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FIFA’s expanded World Cup may soon get even bigger.
The tournament debuted a 48-team tournament this summer – up from the previous 32-team format – but president Gianni Infantino has confirmed the World Cup could balloon once again in 2030.
Speaking to Swiss outlet Bluewin, Infantino shared that FIFA is mulling a 64-team format for the 2030 tournament.
“That’s definitely an issue that will be examined and discussed in the relevant committees after this World Cup,” Infantino said. “When organizing a World Cup, it’s important to organize it for the whole world, not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world.
“Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup. You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high – and it’s getting higher and higher, all over the world. If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”
While the new format removed some jeopardy from the group stages, as 32 of 48 teams advanced to the knockouts, there have also been some great underdog performances, as Infantino hinted at.
Cape Verde escaped the group stage and lost narrowly to Argentina in the round of 32, while DR Congo pushed England to the brink at the same stage.
Following this Canada, United States, and Mexico-hosted World Cup, the next tournament will be primarily hosted by Morocco, Portugal, and Spain.
Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1. If you don’t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.
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There will also be one match apiece in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina in honor of the inaugural 1930 tournament.
Infantino added that he felt this year’s expanded Cup was “100 percent” the right decision.
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“It’s been a huge success with 48 teams. Every team played at a high level. Teams from every continent scored goals and earned at least one point,” he said.
“Nine out of ten African teams reached the knockout stage. At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa. That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams—to give them this opportunity to participate.”
Only Spain, France, England, and Argentina remain in this tournament, with the semifinals set to be contested this week.
Source: New York Post
